Monday, 29 May 2017

Garden Glories

It's that time of year when warm and (finally) wet weather sends the garden into an orgy of growing and flowering. By all rights my flower border should be a developing riot of, often clashing, colours.

But not this year. Oh no, this year my flower border seems to be entirely populated by a pink cranesbill; while my attention was caught up with the armies of lysimachia and fox and cubs, the cranesbill has sent out secret guerrilla units to set up remote outposts across the whole bloody border. I now have pink followed by pink, followed by another sort of pink, followed by even more pink.

I don't mind some pink plants as pink cranesbills in particular are quite lovely, but not a whole border and especially when they've ousted the lovely soft velvety leaved lychnis and my stately verbena bonariensis but are in danger of overwhelming my much loved woodland cranesbill, bequeathed to me by an ecology work colleague when she moved south and couldn't take them with her.
It's time for some drastic action and nine plants have been marked for removal, I will leave some behind as I like the way they give a sense of flow along the border but I have a long and serious chat with them and will be adding them to my list for surveillance and extreme vetting.

Thankfully not all is tales of woe.

The Nu's fernery and woodland border is growing nicely, providing secure camouflage for a whole host of neighbourhood cats, much to her disgust.
Strangely the edible end of the garden seems to be doing even better - although slugs may eat my words and crops for me later.

Two years on and the fruit beds are in full production, with a new piece of ironmongery to try and deter the wood pigeons from scrumping the berries. Honestly if they could speak they'd sound like Cockney urchins as they lurk around the bushes.

My thyme has the most beautiful star like flowers and looks like a miniature constellation and the bees are loving it.

The exotics in the greenhouse have survived and the Oca (at the back) are growing well, while the physalis or Cape Gooseberries have germinated so well I am now the proud owner of 33 physalis plants.
Is that too many I ask myself?
Probably yes as they will soon need to be transplanted into much larger pots and I am already running out of room in the greenhouse.
I may be forced to generously donate some to the village open garden plant stall.....maybe they'll want some pink cranesbills; I can vouch for the fact they are excellent for ground cover.......😈

The Jerusalem artichokes are also doing well after a slow start thanks to our cold spring and only one has not grown; probably due to being sat upon by some self seeded borage seedlings.

And lastly, just look at these gorgeous, smile inducing poppies, they are just shouting 'Happy'.